The U.S. Senate passed an energy bill on Wednesday that would spend $32 billion over five years to improve energy efficiency, invest in clean energy technology, capture harmful emissions from coal-burning facilities, allocate money to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, expedite construction of pipelines, and allow for liquefied natural gas exports. In short, the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015 is a wide-ranging bipartisan bill that has the potential to move the United States energy market in a cleaner direction by encouraging innovation and efficiency. Its passage alone is somewhat momentous; that it was by an 85-12 margin signals that energy diversity can transcend partisanship – in the Senate at least.
The bill contains billions of dollars in funding for research into emerging energy technology, including marine hydrokinetic sources, geothermal and hydroelectric as well as energy storage and improvements to the electricity grid. It would also invest in wind, solar and biomass energies as well as technology that makes burning coal cleaner. While shifting away from traditional fossil fuels, coal in particular, would go farther in reducing carbon emissions and countering climate change, the Senate bill stops short of doing so. By emphasizing energy efficiency through revised building codes, providing incentives for reduced energy use in commercial buildings, and investing in technology that does not contribute carbon to the atmosphere, the bill indirectly shifts the country in the right direction with respect to climate change. It is not enough, but it is an important move.
The measure also provides $500 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a widely popular and effective program that invests in land purchases and projects for outdoor use. La Plata County has received $450,000 in LWCF funding to help with the Animas River Trail, Hillcrest Golf Course and Rank Park, among others. This program was crafted to invest in Americans’ health and vitality and has done so extremely well. Its funding, though, has been less than stable in recent years, and the Senate was right to include it in the energy bill.
However, the work is far from complete. Now, the measure must be merged with the House energy bill which is decidedly less expansive in its vision. That measure invests heavily in oil, coal and natural gas and reduces funding for renewable energy technology. The two chambers must sort through their respective measures and find a compromise that will pass presidential muster: Barack Obama has threatened to veto the House energy bill, and is said to be somewhat more impressed by the Senate version, though not wholly so. When the two chambers convene to discuss the matter, it is in the country’s best interest that they lean toward the Senate’s bill. Investing in technology that shows promise to deliver energy safely, cleanly and efficiently can serve the multiple purposes of meeting our energy demands, reducing our greenhouse gas contributions, and spurring new sources in a critical sector of the U.S. economy. The Senate’s Energy Modernization Act of 2015 is not perfect, but it is a step in the right direction. The House should recognize that during conferencing.
